"If...if I can survive you, I...I can survive anything..." Rizu felt a small pang of doubt deep in her gut. She believed in what she said, but what if she was wrong? "I..I won't give you the satisfaction..." Her voice was quiet and weak, but she did her best to put confidence in her words, even though her voice trembled.

"You know what's in you is far worse...it's true evil...pure unadulterated evil..." my face shows seriousness "you let it in...you chose to keep it....now you have no free will...control is only an illusion...one with an ever present reminder of its fragile existence" looks at the mark on your arm which seems to with and citric almost as if to accentuate my point.

"I...I didn't know...I didn't...I...I..." Rizu choked on her sobs and rocked gently back and forth. Her eyes grew darker and she ehimpered softly. "I didn't know...Koga-taicho...what have I done...I didn't...I..."

Rizu cried quietly and rocked, murmuring softly to herself. "What have I done..." She stared at her hands, clenching and unclenching her fingers. She traced the snake on her bicep with her fingertip. It was hot to the touch.

"So far, nothing. That's why Fukaku will die. Probably after you rip his beating heart from his chest, after you lose control." A voice states in the shadows, behind Rizu, seemingly whispering in her ear despite being several feet away, only her eyes seeming to show in the unnatural shadow surrounding her. "How disappointing, Rizu-chan. You're quite the mess."

Rizu's entire body stiffened and the presence sobered her slightly, pulling her just above water. She kicked herself mentally, not having even detected another being in her vicinity, but this one chilled her to the bone. Her heart hurt as the feminine voice described how she might end the life of her dearest friend. She slowly stood to her feet, using the wall as a support. "Who...are you?"

Rizu's lip quivered slightly as she thought about Fukaku. About how she might be the reason for his death, after all her years of protecting him. "It...it's always my focus...what do you have to do with all of this? Who are you?" She looked at the woman cautiously. Her aura sensing ability wasn't working because of her anger and her spiritual pressure was intimidating to say the least.

"What do I have to do with this?" The voice said with amusement. "nothing. I'm merely a curious observer. As for my name... I assure you, shinigami, that it would be meaningless. I've been outside of shinigami affairs for far too long for it to matter. To you, I'll make the explanation simple... I am a hollow." the last statement was said pridefully, with every word seeming to dance on the edge of amusement.

"...You don't feel like any hollow I've ever encountered..." She tensed anxiously, frustrated thst she couldn't see the woman belonging to the voice. "Why...why are you here? What business do you have with me?"

the glint of a smile appeared n the darkness. "Of course not. When was the last time you met a hollow in control of their own fate. Of course... I'm here to offer you some control over yours. And Fukaku-kuns." Saiko said. "Given I could call you the Devil herself and not be inaccurate... I don't think making a deal with your kind's natural enemy could possibly bring you any lower, after all."

"Simple. Demons are an unnatural aberration, an unwanted distraction in the cycle of shinigami and Hollow." Saiko said with a smirk. "I have grievances with their interfering with my world. As a result... I delight in disrupting their best-laid plans. You currently count as one of them, and so far you're coming along swimmingly." Saiko said. "You hold value to me alive, which is why I didn't simply slit your throat the moment the pup left." Saiko smirked. "While I can certainly guarantee no reason I wouldn't betray you - truly, what shinigami could ever fully lose their distrust of a hollow? - I can point out that if I wanted to betray you, take from you... I had at least a full minute to watch you cry in a corner. I would have been able to end your life in one blow, and I'm sure Fukaku-kun would follow suit the moment he heard the news of your death - without me even having to lift a finger."

Rizu swallowed nervously, looking away. She was right. The hollow could have killed her without an issue. She was weak, vulnerable. An easy target. Just because she couldn't keep it together. She shivered at the thought of Fukaku finding her like this; or worse. "I...suppose I should be grateful for your mercy, then. I cannot help but be wary of your plans and your intent, it seems beggars can't be choosers. What did you have in mind, then? So I may consider this offer."

"Well, firstly, let me define something simply for you. In your current state... you're far too weak to resist a demon of any sort. You have the potential to be more... But it's clearly no secret that currently, your will is shattered.

"Even if you haven't yet killed Fukaku with your own hands... That little fainting spell you had near your former captain might have led to his death, you know? Koga had just as much chance to win in that last duel... the one that occurred after you let him escape. Against that one, you would be lucky if you merely got a corpse back... If not, I'd be surprised if there wasn't a table reserved just for him." Saiko smirked. "if it were merely an issue of power, perhaps you could protect him, but as you are now... you really only serve as his weakness."

Saiko allowed her words to sink in for a moment. "What I want to offer you... is a few days time, an opportunity to gain back some of that strength... That sanity, that left you so long ago now. perhaps then you'll fare SOME chance against the demon's ravages."

Rizu nodded slowly, every word feeling like a knife to her heart; because she believed them to be true. "You really think you can offer such a thing to me? I haven't had a grasp on my own sanity in a very long time. I have lost hope in such dreams. How could you possibly succeed?"

Saiko laughed. "As much as picking your brain sounds enticing... Don't misunderstand me. I'm offering you another chance to reclaim it for yourself. While I could rewrite you to suit my wishes, I doubt you'd trust me to do such... and for good reasons. I could use a shinigami like you." Saiko smirked, a pale face becoming slightly visible to Rizu. "But if you don't reclaim your sanity, your strength, Fukaku will die, you know. After you bound your experiment so closely around your finger... he cannot exist without you. and the more that sanity slips, the shorter that existence is."

"He...he is far stronger than I am..." Rizu tried to rationalize things in her mind. The idea of Fukaku being as desperately reliant upon her as she felt upon him was hard for her to grasp. She remained quiet for a moment as she contemplated her future. "If I choose to accept your offer...what will that entail? "

"Fufufu... You have the power of aura sensing. you know the front he puts up." Saiko said. "All humans, needy as they are, require something to hold onto in their life. Fukaku, through events in part brought on by your old mentor, threw his bond with what remained of his relatives, and what bonds he held with Ajiro were shattered by you, my dear." Saiko said with a grin.

"You and your teacher both managed to systematically destroy every bond he once had... You're all he has left, and his one, and only reason for living." Saiko laughed. "If it would make you happy he would willingly gut himself without hesitation, little Rizuka-chan... He wouldn't even blink."

"If you accept my offer, you'll spend some time in Hueco Mundo. I'll be forcing you to confront many of the issues you have left untouched, and I imagine it will be very painful for you. After that... you'll have to reassert control over that demon you have within you. At that last, there's a good chance you may die, if you fail, so be prepared for such."

Saiko grinned, starting to step forward. "This will take at least a few days, with my subordinates keeping guard. In exchange... you don't speak of this to anyone. Oh, and... I'll be taking your place in the seireitei those few days. I have plans of my own, some involving Fukaku letting me within ten meters." Saiko's voice seemed to change, matching Rizu's own. "Fukaku would doubtlessly wish to know what was going on if you simply go missing, after all, and he has no need to truly know of me yet." Saiko said, Rizu's twin appearing from the shadows. "I promise not to bring him to harm, or cause him to break. But I do need to alter the current flow of events for him, as well. Besides... This way, in the event you do die... I can make sure he doesn't even know you're gone. More than a fair trade, I'd think."

Rizu's head was swimming. Alarm bells rang off in her head as she told herself that this was a terrible idea. She whispered softly to herself. "What choice do I have?" She remained silent as she attempted to weigh the potential outcomes. "I don't want to leave him..." Her voice was soff and unsure.

"Of course you don't. He means everything to you, doesn't he?" Saiko said with a smile. "On the other hand... You being around him is the most dangerous thing for him right now, isn't it?" Saiko pointed out. "your choices are to try and muddle a way out of this on your own, and potentially fail, or face the problem head-on, as you've failed to do in the past. This is your choice, however. I won't force you to do anything." Saiko said with a smirk. "if you want to stay as you are, and close the door on this chance... I won't stop you. You can leave right now, as a matter of fact. But if you want to move forward, instead... all it takes is for you to take a step." Saiko said, extending her hand, as a garganta appeared behind her, opening less like a normal garganta, and more like someone punched open a rough hole in reality itself. "and to take my hand."

Rizu stood conflicted. Alarm bells rang in her head again. Everything told her that this was a terrible idea. How could she possibly trust a hollow? This one was different than she had ever experienced in her entire life as a Shinigami. Not an Arrancar. Something beyond its power on a more primal level. She most definitely had ulterior motives. But Fukaku's life was far more important to her than anything else in this world or the next. "If I die, I want Fukaku protected, just as I would protect him." She reached out, shaking, and took the woman's outstretched hand.

"if you die, I promise to do exactly as you would." Her double smirked. "No hesitation. You really don't care, as long as Fukaku's protected, do you? even if it required someone to take your place to do so." Saiko's grip was firm but not to the point of causing pain.

"I keep my word. If you die, Fukaku shall still live a long life, and die of old age with his best friend, Rizuka by his side. For him, it'll be like you never left." Saiko's smile left more than a hint of amusement. "Be thankful. of all the shinigami who exist in the world... you are the only one I'd find worthy of such an offer."

At that, Saiko cocked her head. "Now come with me, Rizu-chan. It's time to see how strong you really are, underneath that mass of reishi. And do try your best - while it might be amusing for quite a while, I'll admit I don't really want to spend several hundred years as a shinigami captain." Saiko said less seriously, leading Rizu into the portal.

"Fukaku is my family. I will always protect him. No matter the cost." Her mind went through every moment she had spent with Fukaku in her life and she took a shaking breath. Rizu's eyes welled up and she closed them, exhaling. I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye. I will move mountains to return to you, Fukaku-kun. She opened her eyes and gave way to the woman's grip, folliwing her through the garganta.

As the two of them passed through the garganta, Saiko smirked. "is that so? Hold onto that determination, then. It might help ground you in the coming trial... Then again.... Maybe it won't do anything at all. I guess that's for you to find out.".